A PRIMARY school closed yesterday, Friday, after a family reported symptoms of being ill after coming into "direct contact" with someone who has coronavirus.

Hindsford CE Primary School will be shut until Tuesday, March 17 while it gets a deep clean.

The Lodge Lane school says health authorities did not insist on the closure or cleaning of the school but has acted in the "duty of care" of pupils and staff.

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In a statement, the school said: "This morning (Friday) we received a call to say that one of our families has been in direct contact with a person who has been to Northern Italy recently.

"The family members are presenting with symptoms although there are no confirmed cases at this point.

"Therefore we do not want anyone to worry unnecessarily.

"However, we made a commitment to you at the start of the week to inform you if any parent or staff member informed us that they had been in contact and were showing symptoms and were concerned.

"We are aware of the impact of news of this nature on a community and it is not our intention to cause undue alarm.

"However, we have made the decision to close the school for the next two days for a deep clean as a precautionary measure.

"Please note, that at this stage, health authorities have not insisted the closure or the cleaning of the school.

"This is our decision as a duty of care to our pupils and staff.

"Again, please can we re-iterate that there is no concern for alarm but this is just a precautionary measure."